By Jarret Liotta
Board of Finance Chairman Brian Stern told the Board of Education (BOE) Monday night it will probably have to do better for its 2019-2020 budget than an estimated 2.67-percent increase to its current $116.2-million operating budget.
Board of Finance Chairman Brian Stern (foreground) talks to school officials. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Jarret Liotta for WestportNow.com
“The Grand List went up 1.2 percent,” Stern said at the first informal budget powwow with the BOF, which included members of the Board of Selectmen.
Following a summary of the financial state of the town, Stern said his “suggestion” was that the BOE roughly match that 1.2-percent increase in its final budget request.
Superintendent of Schools Colleen Palmer presented an estimated budget request of $119.3 million for the 2019-20 school year.
Both BOF and BOE members also told Palmer that they want to see specifics on how changing to the K-6 elementary school model next year will impact costs, including the addition of a dozen portable classrooms.
“I can certainly understand the yearning for detail,” Palmer said, adding, however, that her team only had five working days to prepare since the BOE approved going to the K-6 model for next year to address facility issues following the closing of Coleytown Middle School (CMS) this fall.
As they do not have definitive costs for portables, “To put them in as a place holder was really meaningless,” she said.
While Stern said the town “is in fairly good shape” from a financial standpoint, it was not clear what the next year or two might reveal, in part due to state financial concerns.
“What I’m looking for the Board of Ed to do when you present the budget is to tell us where you are this year and to tell us where you are next year,” he said, advocating a two-year plan.
Stern spoke of the important role the school system plays in relation to the town’s financial standing.
“Our objective is to have the best school system in the area,” he said. “It’s part of our brand, it’s part of our selling commodity, and we as a board are committed to making that happen.”
That said, he cautioned the BOE to focus on firming up its education strategy before it made decisions about facility needs.
“What do we want?” he said. “What is the right curriculum? (That is) the stuff you need to nail down before you go to a facilities strategy.”
Other BOF members, while extending their support and understanding to the BOE for its challenges, spoke to a need for a long-term look at facility maintenance.
“We need a new, fresh look at our how we’re maintaining our schools,” BOF member Michael Rea said.
BOF member Andrea Moore said that, given additional costs relating to the CMS crisis, it was all the more important to keep operating increases in check.
“It just seems to me like there are other things going on that are adding to our budget in a time of crisis,” she said, citing estimated increases in the areas of equipment, purchased services, property services and supplies.
“This gives me a little bit of pause,” she said.
